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i.Tech's mobile SD DVR
Manually converting videos to play on your cellphone is often a pain in the neck -- so thankfully our friends in Hong Kong have come up with a way to solve this incessant problem: the mobile Digital Video Recorder. According to the company's site and Slashphone, you simply plug the mDVR into the television via three "CA AV" jacks (we're assuming that means composite) and presto, you're now able to record your favorite shows direct to an SD card that you can later pop into your Treo or the handset of your choice. We know, never been done before, right? And as you can imagine, this isn't really H.264 codec quality we're talking about here, but how many phones are great at playing that anyway? You get 3GP and H.263, at QCIF, CIF and QVGA resolutions -- and you'll like it In other words, it'll probably do the job -- assuming that at some point iTech lists the price and get some distribution channels lined up.[Via Slashphone]
Pontus EN-3700 in-car sat nav also rocks the tunes
We're no strangers to the Pontus line of consumer electronics devices from Japanese manufacturer Edia, and now the company has announced yet another in-car nav unit that's heavy on the multimedia features but light on the internal storage -- and by light, we mean that it has none. Therefore, the EN-3700 gets all its maptastic goodness from the included 1GB card (its predecessor, the EN-3500, only shipped with 512MB), though you also have to pack your MP3, WMA, JPEG, and BMP files in with whatever maps you need to store. As for the screen, it's a 3.5-inch little touchscreen number with a QVGA display -- not bad, but since they're cutting corners in the storage department, we'd expect a little more for our 74,800 yen ($642). If you're looking for a way to navigate your way around Japan (or just locate one of the seemingly abundant McDonalds locations) and this sounds like the right GPS system for you, you should be able to snatch one up sometime this month.
Pantech's feature-packed IM-U140 multimedia phone
If for some reason we lived in a world without highly-configurable, QWERTY-fied smartphones, our next choice on the cellphone tip would be a feature-packed multimedia handset, and Pantech has delivered just that with its new IM-U140. The most prominent feature of this new model is its SideKick-like form factor, although the U140 eschews the swivel screen for one that slides up to a 30-degree angle at the touch of a button -- all the better to watch programs from its integrated satellite DMB receiver (complete with TV-OUT). At 2.6-inches wide and 262,000 colors, the QVGA touchscreen is no slouch, either, and even throws in a vibrating function so you know that your every command has been acknowledged and received. Other goodies here include a three megapixel camera (a nice bump over the two megapixel shooters found on the IM-R100 and IM U-MU110), PictBridge support for PC-less printing, MP3 playback enhanced by four-channel stereo speakers and an FM transmitter, plus that popular Korean add-on, the electronic dictionary. Curiously absent from the spec sheet are any mention of Bluetooth or memory card support, but with the music and imaging functions, we imagine that there's at least a microSD slot tucked away in there somewhere. Expect the U140 to land in Korea sometime this month, although the presumably hefty pricetag has yet to be announced. To get the full overview of what you'd be stuffing in your pocket everyday, keep on readin' to peep this rather chunky number from the side...
NHC's new "Muvia" ADY-30512 PMP plays it safe
With a 2.5-inch QVGA screen, 512MB of memory and SD card expansion, there really isn't anything going on with this new ADY-30512 "Muvia" PMP from NHC that we haven't seen a million times before. Still, the device manages to be reasonably svelte at 0.75-inches thick, and the MPEG, MOV, AVI, ASF, DivX and WMV codec support is fairly expansive. The device also manages a mic input and AV line-in, and the 6 hour battery life (12 hours with music) ain't too shabby. Sadly, the device interfaces with USB 1.1, and its 29,800 Yen pricetag ($257 US) doesn't really stand out from the crowd. All the same, we should be seeing this one in Japan on the 24th of August.[Via Impress]
BlueBird's BM-300 Pocket PC does DMB too
It takes a pretty special phone-less PDA to pique our interest these days, and even though Korean manufacturer BlueBird's new Pidion BM-300 doesn't really push the envelope in areas like processor speed or screen resolution, the fact that they threw a DMB tuner into the mix puts this model in some pretty distinguished company. Besides the PM80 from LG, in fact, we're hard-pressed to think of another palmtop that sports a built-in digital TV receiver -- which is probably because there's little demand for this feature anywhere outside of Korea for now. Specs-wise, the WiFi- and Bluetooth-equipped BM-300 definitely comes out on top, as its 512MHz Bulverde CPU, 64MB/128MB RAM/ROM configuration and Windows Mobile 5.0 OS are all superior to what the LG model offers, though the two do share the same unfortunate 320 x 240 resolution. South Korean TV fanatics can expect these to hit stores sometime in October -- from the look of things, they need some time to polish up that design a little -- for a price that's yet to be announced.[Via Digital-Lifestyles]
TiVo Desktop 2.3 hack lets you bump transcode resolution
Transcoders got their wish last week with TiVo Desktop 2.3 and its conversion tools that finally allow users an easy way to get MPEG-4 or H.264 video all prepped for a portable device. Unfortunately, it's QVGA or bust with video conversions, which puts a damper on use with the PSP and other higher-res devices -- real and imagined. Luckily, our pal Dave Zatz has a hack all prepped for setting the resolution to whatever your heart desires, and it really doesn't take a lot of technical knowhow to do. So head on over and get transcoding, or just wait for QVGA-induced blindness to set in. Your call.
Three more digital cameras from Acer
Since they don't release these products in the US, you might not know that Acer's got quite the little digital camera business going on overseas, and now they've announced three more new models to join the 8.28 megapixel CP 8660 we spotted earlier. If you were hoping for some of the retro styling or compelling features we saw on the CP-8660, though, you'll probably be disappointed, as there's not much noteworthy about the 5.05 megapixel CE 5430 and 6.36 megapixel CE 6430 point-and-shoots or the 5.05 megapixel CL 5300 (pictured), other than the fact that this latter model seems to be Acer's first foray into ultracompacts. Both new members of the CE line feature those standard 3x optical zooms that have become so tiresome along with 2.36-inch TFT LCDs (no viewfinder here), while the 5300 sports a 2.0-inch LCD and seemingly no optical zoom. Rounding out the ho-hum specs for all three devices are a USB 1.1 connection, SD slot, PictBridge support, and that old standby, QVGA video capture (thankfully it's at least 30fps), although so far pricing remains a mystery. Keep reading to check out the two new CE models, although we should warn you that they look like a thousand other cameras you've seen before...Read- CL 5300Read- CE 5430Read- CE 6430
Fanboy specs, drawings emerge for Motorola SCPL
What's a lazy Friday afternoon without a bit of completely unsubstantiated rumor mongering? Sure, it's possible that Ed Zander himself wrote this SCPL mockup on a napkin over a recent lunch, but we're thinking it more likely the doings of a fanboy with too much time on his hands. Anyways, the specs are as set above: 0.2-inches thick (compared to the 0.27-inch chubster X820 from Samsung),QVGA display, 512MB flash memory, microSD slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, FM radio (pushing it), Bluetooth 2.0 and a titanium-alloy build. We'd be pretty happy with about half of that, but we're sure this won't be the last savory rumor to drool over before we find out for reals.
HTC Tornado available from O2 as the Xda IQ
As of today, Brits have access to one of the hottest Windows Mobile 5.0 smartphones on the market, thanks to o2's much-anticipated release of the Xda IQ. Better known as the HTC Tornado (or the Cingular 2125 / T-Mobile SDA / Qtek 8310 / Orange SPV C600), this quad-band GSM worldphone sports both Bluetooth and WiFi, a 200MHz processor, 2.2-inch QVGA screen, 1.3 megapixel cam, miniSD slot, and EDGE data capabilities. The best part is that AKU2, with its sweet, sweet MSFP, will be available for download at launch, so customers can get their push email-on right away -- and even their A2DP, thanks to the godsend of a .cab assembled by the good folks over at the xda-developers forum. Even though this handset is already available, our best efforts have been for naught when it comes to finding a price -- a little help, UK readers?
Pantech and Curitel's PT-S200 multimedia slider
New to the South Korean market: the Pantech and Curitel PT-S200 handset, a multimedia slider featuring a 2 megapixel camera and all-important subway map. This 17.9-millimeter thick model also sports a QVGA display, MicroSD slot for MP3s, mobile banking capabilities, and the requisite (for Korea, at least) electronic dictionary. Available only in white, the PT-S200 seems to be on sale immediately for the Korean equivalent of $425.
Benq's HSDPA EF91 on the fast track for release?
Along with today's announcement of the HTC Muse getting a third quarter release to get a jump on the European HSDPA market, Benq has a little surprise of their own with a reported July European release of their first HSDPA unit, the EF91. T-Mobile is to be the lucky carrier, but there's no word as to a price for the clamshell. We do know that beyond those fun fun HSDPA speeds, the phone features a 2-inch QVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera, microSD slot, and stereo over Bluetooth. Not at all a bad start for those blessed with HSDPA access.[Via Reg Hardware]
Samsung's new SCH-A990 appears on FCC
We were thinking of sending the FCC some flowers for Valentine's day last February for gifting us year-round with juicy scoops like Samsung's new SCH-A990 (well, kind of new -- see their SCH-Z710, pictured after the break), an EV-DO handset likely to feature a rotating QVGA display, 3.2 megapixel autofocusing camera, Bluetooth, and MicroSD slot. No knowing when this phone will hit the streets, but it'll be on Verizon, and we can assume it'll set you back some bank.[Via Phone Scoop]
LG shows another T-DMB swivel phone, the LB1500
The design team at LG is getting plenty of mileage out of this swivel shell for for their DMB phones, with the LG-LB1500 as the latest in a long line of similarly styled units. Of course, we're not complaining. There's a nice big 2.2-inch QVGA display dominating the unit, and an overall thickness of 0.77-inches. There's also some sort of "IPS method" to enhance viewing, but we're rather low on deets. The phone should be available in May -- in Korea no doubt -- so we suppose we'll know more then.
Pink Chocolate? LG says yes
LG has thoroughly trashed their black and white "chocolate" metaphor with their new pink LG Chocolate, the LG-SV590. With 350,000 of the slim-slider Chocolate phones sold so far, it's hard to fault LG for releasing the phone in a new color, but we were kind of digging the whole edible motif. No matter, the phone still has its 2-inch QVGA screen, 512MB of memory, and LG even has a US version in the works.
Lenovo's i921 WinMo smartphone
Akihabara News has some, um, news about a new Windows Mobile-powered handset from Lenovo that is, while not the first smartphone from the PC manufacturer that we've seen, certainly the most attractive. The i921 is said to rock WM5 (no confirmation on that, apparently, but we seriously doubt that they'd go the WinMo 2003 route), a two megapixel camera, Bluetooth, QVGA touchscreen, and MiniSD slot, and work on some unknown number of GSM frequencies. Not many other deets are known, such as pricing or availability, but if we don't see WiFi or UMTS in the specs, we keep on shopping, no matter how hot the phone looks.[Via MobileMag]
Pics of Sprint's rumored Sanyo Katana ultra-slim clamshell
It doesn't get much blurrier than this, folks, but pics have emerged at HowardForums purporting to depict Sprint's rumored "Katana" phone from Sanyo. The ultra-slim handset is said to have a lovable 2.2-inch QVGA display, a less exciting VGA camera, and Bluetooth connectivity. There's no word on EV-DO, but the phone will supposedly retail for around $100 after rebates and is due "mid-to-late summer." Check the read link for some exciting color schemes like "Blue Sapphire" and "Cherry Blossom Pink," making this handset hard not to peg as a fashionphone.[Via phoneArena]
